On the GRASS user email list, a new script for GRASS GIS was just announced; r.finder. The script can be used to check the analogies of places with known characteristics and to show the most similar areas in the region. The output is a map containing all cells with the same combination of thematic maps parameters of the non-zero cells in the input map. You can find the script and documentation here.

Markus Neteler mentioned on the GRASS user mailing list a new library that came out that extracts valid data from within an OpenStreetMap input file. It is from the developer of Spatialite, and can be downloaded from here.

Data on poverty levels, important for amongst others development study, yet very difficult to get. Sure, you can get global statistics from e.g., the FAO, Worldbank, here or here. But these give you highly aggregated data (mostly by country), not the sub-national level data often needed.

It was a long wait, but GIMP 2.8 is finally out. With this version some long-anticipated features are introduced such as layer groups, on-canvas text editing, advanced brush dynamics and the much desired optional single-window mode. Continue reading “GIMP 2.8 is out”→

Just though I share some first impressions about my upgrade to Ubuntu 12.04 (Precise Pangolin). The upgrade process itself wasn’t the best experience ever unfortunately. After the upgrade, I couldn’t even start up anymore. As it turns out, during the update process my GRUB bootloader got corrupted. After a bit of searching, I found an easy solution: the Boot-Repair disc. Simply download the ISO and burn it on CD (yes, you do need access to another computer). After booting my computer using the CD, Boot-Repair let me fix the issues with a simple click.